Government Motors Awards Union Workers $5,000 Signing Bonus

Government Motors will award union members a $5,000 signing bonus as part of a new four-year contract. The car company is still part-owned by the US Treasury. In fact, the U.S. Treasury still owns about 26% of GM’s shares.
The AP reported:

The United Auto Workers union won $5,000 signing bonuses and the possibility of sweeter profit-sharing checks as part of a new four-year contract with General Motors Co., two people briefed on the talks said Saturday.

The deal, which was reached late Friday, also includes a $2- to $3-per-hour pay raise for entry-level workers over the life of the contract and guarantees more union jobs, the people said.

Both persons asked to remain anonymous because the details of the contract haven’t been reviewed by all local union leaders.

The GM deal will serve as a template for contracts that still must be negotiated with Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. It would set the pay and benefits for 112,500 U.S. auto workers. It also sets the bar for pay and benefits at nonunion auto companies and other industries across the country.

The contract is the first since GM and Chrysler received government bailouts to make it through bankruptcy protection in 2009. GM earned $4.7 billion last year.

Workers have to approve the deal before it can take effect. A vote is expected within 10 days…

…The union hoped to show that it can work cooperatively with auto companies as it tries to unionize U.S. factories owned by Nissan Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and other foreign automakers. King said the union remains committed to organizing those plants.

“As long as unionized workers are being forced to compete with nonunion workers who in most cases receive lower pay and benefits — many in temporary jobs — there will continue to be a downward pressure on the wages and benefits of all auto workers,” he said in a statement.

Also watching closely is the White House. GM received a $49.5 billion government bailout two years ago and is still part-owned by the U.S. Treasury. An agreement that is favorable to GM could help the company’s stock rise, which would get the Treasury closer to making back the money it is owed when it sells its remaining shares.

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Dick

I dearly love my Chevy truck, but these guys are never gonna learn.

paul52

Another reason why I’ll probably never buy a new car again. Where is MY bonus for buying American cars for the last 42 years???

NeoKong

How’s that Chevy Volt working out….?
Why is a company that cannot survive without tens of billions of dollars of tax payer money giving everybody bonuses and raises ?

Nissan would be crazy to let the UAW into their factories.
They are worse than a swarm of locusts

Sickofobama

Hey it’s not their money so they can hand out as much as they want.

Never, ever purchase anything from Government Motors.

bigkahuna

Never again will I by anything from this union thug run and bailed out stolen company.

They stole it from stockholders with Obamas leadership, consent and help. ( he should be in prison)

They are ungrateful, thugs and I will support non union companies that pay a far fairer wage for a far more competent workforce and expect more from them

The only one I would consider is Ford and they are also beholden to union thugs

daryl

If this is the way they intend to piss off their government bailout dollars to hell with GM.
These damned one hour working and two hours on break union thugs need to earn their damned (less work-more pay) checks, not have them presented to them suitable for cashing and framing and adjusted for inflation weekly.

bigkahuna

I hope it goes bankrupt and unions lose all those shares and some investoprs come in and buy it out and bust the union and bring in all new workers where possible. Show these idiots they cant screw the taxpayers ever again.

Major Kong

Used to look for products made here. In the future I’ll be looking to buy products with no bitterly-clinging union affiliations.

wtd

Now if the Union would use membership dues to invest in ownership (outright purchase with their own funds) in the industry which they work, instead of using taxpayer funds handed over by the federal government, I wouldn’t have these issues with unions. But, unions do (ab)use federal funds and so I have a big problem with these ‘incentives’.

bigkahuna

By the way…How much money has the taxpayer gotten back from these scumbags ?

The way I look at it Honda employs basically as many as these scumbag thiefs and does it profitably and more efficiently with grateful workers who are trained to do many jobs not just putting on bolt A or handle F and then told you cant screw in Bolt B or Handle C because thats not in my job description and many other union thug tactics

My brother worked for Ford but was laid off after about 8 years…he then went out and worked for private companies for 6-8 years before being called back to Ford in the early 90’s

During contract negotiations every few years he got 2 years back each contract toward his retirement ( for time he wasnt there) Good for my brother but horrible for FORD.

Sister works at Honda…what a totally different mindset, work environment, expectation, ytraining, constant education, testing, movement between jobs and responsibilities to keep people fresh, flexible, efficient and healthy.

Screw the work ethic busting unions

shibumi

From the Detroit News:

“In 2007, the last time a contract was reached between the automakers and the union, workers got a $3,000 signing bonus at all three.”

Looks like Prez Downgrade is taking care of his union goons, sorry, supporters.

What’s up next? I suspect a UAW strike against Ford, since they are not owned by the government (UAW) and must be punished because of that.

Betsy Ross

More of the abuse of our tax money going to Democrats to make sure they keep voting Democrat.

Conservative Ken

First act of the next President
Sign the executive order repealing Obamacare

Second act
Sell off Government owned GM stock to Toyota and say goodbye to the UAW

Freddy

Of course the car company with majority control held between the UAW and the federal government is going to settle first. This negotiation is about how much taxpayer money they will keep. Future negotiations will be about how large a stipend the company needs from the federal government to stay in business for the good of the country!

Obama has a vested interest in getting any contract signed. Obama does not care if this deal is economically viable for a company that is tens of billions in debt. Obama is only concerned with his re-election campaign.

Look for a nice strike at Ford as they point out all the unworkable details of this UAW rip-off of the federal/UAW owned government motors.

There will not be a strike at government motors until there is a Republican in the White House. At that point, there will be a strike directly in front of the first possible election.

Carbon Pootprint

Eff OGM and their union and all the crony capitalist parasites

shibumi

“By the way…How much money has the taxpayer gotten back from these scumbags ?”

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

you so funny!

5kidsnadog

“The GM deal will serve as a template for contracts that still must be negotiated with Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. It would set the pay and benefits for 112,500 U.S. auto workers. It also sets the bar for pay and benefits at nonunion auto companies and other industries across the country.”

Is it just me or does it seem like propaganda when they say that this deal sets the bar for pay and benefits at nonunion auto companies and other industries across the country? Huh? Since when? Haven’t we realized that the unionized auto workers are on a different planet (along with the unionized government workers) from us regular folks when it comes to pay and benefits? Isn’t this one of the reasons why they had to be bailed out — because they cost more than their non-union brethren at other companies? I feel like I can’t read anything anymore without seeing the party line being pushed.

Maybe if some day it went private and they fired all the UAW destroyers.

(fat chance… maybe after it finally collapses?)

USMC Thomas

GovermentMotors

Jim

In 40 years I have purchased only GM products, never again!

billypaintbrush

The biggest non-union auto plant in the country is Subaru in Indiana. They also build the Toyota Camry there. Plant runs three shifts. The UAW is constantly trying to organize it, but for some reason, the employees keep saying “go away.”

These employees obviously do not understand the value of hating the company, being in a constant adversarial position and going out on strike every few years.

Ingrates

injunjoe

what sucks is, i own a 1999 dodge truck. I really like it, but i will never buy another.

jim m

I like this: “As long as unionized workers are being forced to compete with nonunion workers…”

There’s nothing the left would like more than to intercede and force all workers in this country to join a union. Then everything would be “fair”. No the unions shouldn’t be made to justify their existence by actually providing meaningful benefits to workers. If they did that there would be no problem organizing any workplace. No, they just want government enforced unionization.

Granny

#10 September 18, 2011 at 11:26 am
bigkahuna commented:

By the way…How much money has the taxpayer gotten back from these scumbags ?

________

None. They got a second government loan to pay back the bail out money and the treasury lost money hand over fist on the portion of the stock it allowed to be sold off.

dwd

$5,000… well that will pay their union dues for a while… until the next strike, when they’ll miss so much work–and lose so much money–that any wage increase negotiated by the union will never possibly make up for the money lost during the strike.

Why do they even need a signing bonus? If the goal is to CREATE JOBS, then take all those signing bonuses and use that money to hire MORE PEOPLE instead of giving more money to less people.

Meg

Pay the $5000 per person to the govt. to pay back the debt.

bg

++

just a sample of ‘stuff’ i’ve been posting about and connecting
dots to ever since the first time ever i heard the name Barack
Hussein Obama..

Unionized auto workers are definitely overpaid. One proof is the fact that so many Americans are happy to do the same job for less.

Unions are a form of extortion, always with the threat of violence, to get ridiculously high levels of pay for low-skilled and often lazy people. It’s absurd that they are highly paid BECAUSE there so many others who can do exactly the same thing — therefore a powerful union.

One result is that people with more individualized skills (and often lower compensation) have to pay inflated prices for basic goods.

Patty

Republicans really must play hard ball. They cannot sit back and take what is happening anymore in this nation.

Unions are filled with Thugs. This administration is allowing protesters to commit crimes, violence and when someone gets killed the jig is up, maybe but with no reaction or condemnation for the actions of the Unions and a friendship with leaders, you can rest assure this administration will never reprimand one single union.

It is very doubtful that other auto companies will fall in line like good little soldiers. This companies are highly respected by their employees and they won’t hear of it.

And this 5,000 will seal the deal that employees will VOTE OBAMA. It is a tactic that doesn’t surprise me but what does is that they didn’t wait until closer to the elections.

meanwhile back at the ranch–in Calif I read the grocery workers are going in strike. There are prob 1000 unemployed or under emp for every job. One of the stores not to be struck (or is it striked) Ralphs is pulling out all groceries and closing for the duration.
The issue is 8$ a week for health benefits for a single and $26 per week for a family. won’t pay it.
can’t afford it. but the health tab for most people outside companies is $600 to $1100 a month. Last strike cost $2 billion over penny-ante figures that thestores wanted the emps to pay. and it went on for 4 months. Houses were forecolsed, families broken up, marriage on the riocks, lives of ruined, unbelievable pain to the checker’s families.
What these strikers don’t get isthat the grocery companies may well wantto close some store forever…Many are too big and fancy from the ’99 dot-com boom era.
There will a reduction of checker union emps from 69,000 to under 30,000 I bet.

i wonder how much of the bonus they have to “donate” to the democratic party.

atticcellar

The only candidate not bought off by the banksters, unions, or other criminal entities is Ron Paul.. Ron Paul wins California straw poll… 2012

President Potemkin

Is the $4.7 billion net or gross?

Barry Lawhorn

Last time they tried to organize vw. they closed the plant and left the country. VW will probably do it again. Yet if Unions are so great,why are the non union ones turning them away? Wait and see what happens with the Nlrb and boeing, if Boeing looses, expect more Obama lawsuits against non union companies to force them in to his army.

BS-meter

As a US taxpayer I’ll be allright as soon as I get my dividend check.

bg

++

atticcellar #39 September 18, 2011 at 2:17 pm

RP wins CA straw poll..

that says it all in a nutshell..

==

Buffalobob

$5000 bonus? bribe paid to the union thugs, it’s the Chicago way.

alfromchgo

Being retired and with free time I have a hobby. Once or twice a month I go to a GM dealership, visit three times looking at one particular model, begin to deal seriously, then tell the salesman “had a senior moment sorry, forgot your owned by the government, can’t buy it” and quickly walk out.

tpartynitwit

I have no problem with bailed out banks granting several hundred thousands of dollars in bonuses to each of their top executives, they’re republicans. But to give those worthless Demothugs even $.05 is an outrage! I plan to gather all my golfing buddies and consider harumphing.

Ms Liberty

I will not only never buy another GM product. I will refuse to rent one from the rental fleet companies.

AuntieMadder

We MUST buy from GM or bail them out again because they’re too big to fail, ya’ know.

The top crooks get paid more money by these companies than they are worth. This is at the expence of the tax payers. Bail outs, stimulus and tax breaks that the average sytizen will never receive is totally wrong. This must stop.

Annalyse

Obviously none of you have ever worked the line in an auto plant! We work GM. We buy GM. And we support all unions in the USA. Instead of constantly picking at the hourly wage earner, Why not start looking @ the big banking and their bailouts. Pick at the ceo’s and board members, and their bonuses. The auto worker will pay taxes on that 5000, and it will be taken before they see it. No body talks about the good things the autoworker does. Does anyone know that they voluntarily gave up there contractual raises a few years back so the retirees could keep their health benefits. That is what UNION is about. Someone needs to take a look @ how much each auto worker gives to charity. These are Good Hard working people. And unless you have walked in their shoes then you should pick @ what you know. Not nasty rumors that have run rampant for years.